The top 5 times to communicate with your client
Everyone knows that communication is important - but what’s too much, too little, or the wrong sort? And why does poor communication ruin otherwise great client relationships?
If you have ever found yourself wondering why a client got annoyed with you, have a read of the list below - hopefully it will help you improve your communications - and your client relationships.
1. When you have an update
Who doesn’t love spreading good news? The most obvious time to communicate with your client is when you’ve got something good to tell them. You might have finished their concept sketches, resolved their drainage issues, or found the perfect paving – and it’s on sale!
This type of communication is great – as long as it forms part of your communication schedule. You don’t want to overload your client with constant small updates, so consider gathering everything up into a mini-bulletin.
2. When something has gone wrong
I can’t emphasis this enough – the best time to communicate bad news is straight away! You don’t have to have a solution – in fact, if you’ve spent ages trying to find one, and now the issue is a crisis - this can be worse than a quick heads-up to alert the client to a potential problem. Remember to frame the issue as you and the client versus the problem, rather than either shouldering blame pointlessly, or worse – leaving the client on their own with the problem and walking away.
3. When you haven’t got anything to say
The basis of a good client relationship is trust, and one of the best ways to build trust is to let your clients know you have them in your mind. So – even when there’s no update – make sure you are still communicating. This can be as simple as an email at the end of each week, saying - e.g. that you’re waiting on a response from the nursery, or that you’ve chased the landscapers for quotes. Another way to do this is to sign off each meeting or email with the date you’ll next be in touch – if the client knows that the upcoming stage - e.g. creating the technical drawings, or the planting plan – is likely to take a couple of weeks to complete, then they won’t worry when they haven’t heard from you.
4. When you need a decision
Believe it or not, although a client’s garden design is TOP of your priorities, you may not be at the top of theirs. Allowing decision-making to drag on for weeks will put you behind, cause the project to lose momentum, or even result in the client losing enthusiasm for the project. Therefore, it’s a good idea to clearly explain how long the client has to think about a decision (and have a clause about timely responses in your T&Cs) and when you’ll remind them about it.
I know you can’t MAKE a client make a decision, but you can stack everything in favour of them knowing that they need to!
5. When the project comes to an end
Everyone loves to feel good about a project. An email thanking the clients for their business, and saying how much you enjoyed working on the project can go a long way towards them recommending you to their friends. It’s also a great time to ask for a testimonial (have a link to your google business page handy). In some cases, it can also be useful to communicate to the client that the project is indeed concluded, and you are no longer working for them – but you’d be delighted to quote for further services if required, of course!
That’s my top 5 times to communicate - Do you agree - or do you go about things differently? Let me know in the comments
thanks for reading
Kate
